Friends - [5x18] - The One Where Rachel Smokes

"The One Where Rachel Smokes" is the eighteenth episode of the fifth season of Friends, which aired on April 8, 1999. Rachel takes up smoking at her new job as a way of making inroads with the boss. Joey joins Ross's son Ben on an audition for a soup commercial.

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Rachel smokes.

Phoebe and Monica organize a surprise party for Rachel one month ahead of her birthday, but organizing freak Monica takes responsibility over everything, leaving nothing for Phoebe, who points this out to her. To try and spare something, Monica gives Phoebe duties on cups and ice, and Phoebe vows to "make her rue the day she put [Phoebe] in charge of cups and ice."

Ross' son Ben has been offered the chance to become a star in a soup commercial, which an envious Joey finds hard to accept. When he learns that the soup commercial also calls for the role of a dad, he volunteers himself for the audition. Both he and Ben are chosen for the callback, but the lack of similarity in looks makes the director cast them opposite to each other, so only one of them can be chosen for the commercial. As things end up, Joey has to audition with a famous commercial child actor. He talks to Ross about the callback, but only to make Ben back out of the whole thing, which Ross finds crazy as it was Ben's audition and Joey merely invited himself along. The two end up fighting about it, but there's no time to hold grudges as the callback is held. Joey screws up the two-word line he has, which loses him the part.

Phoebe is put in charge of cups and ice.

On the first day at her work, Rachel tries to get along with her new colleague and boss Nancy and Kim. The latter two are smokers, and go out on a cigarette break every morning, which Rachel can't join as she doesn't smoke. However, to try and bond with them, she joins them and tries to smoke a cigarette with them. But Rachel's not very enthusiastic to fall into the bad habit, which is bad for her as Kim and Nancy bond during cigarette breaks and Nancy advises Kim on the executive decision. Rachel fears for her position, as Kim and Nancy have more time to spend together, and tries to talk Kim and Nancy into quitting, but fails when she catches them smoking behind her back. Kim warns Rachel that she'll fire her if she catches her with a cigarette, and Rachel has no choice but to do so - just as Kim invites Nancy on a trip to Paris with her.

Determined to make a good impression with cups and ice, Phoebe rises to the occasion spectacularly, and practically decorates the apartment with nothing but cups. As for the ice, she brings a whole variety for everyone to enjoy: crushed, cubed and dry ice, together with snow cones. Monica is almost inexistent in the party, and she realizes that she has underestimated Phoebe. Rachel arrives home, and is very surprised to find the party, especially since Chandler's birthday is before hers. Everyone tries to pass the party off as a surprise for Chandler which, unsurprisingly, doesn't work. Meanwhile, Ross tries to talk to Joey, who is still sad at losing the part at the callback. He ends up telling Joey that the real reason he messed up the part is because, deep down, Joey wanted Ben to get it, which Joey finds as a good excuse. When he asks Ross how Ben did, Ross tells him that Ben didn't get the part, and Joey replies: "Eh, what are you gonna do?", showing how little he cares about Ben's acting career.